Futsal Premier League 2 Open Men’s Round 5 Review
Round 5 in the Futsal Premier League 2 Open Mens competition was another wonderful weekend of futsal which sees a two-way tussle at the top of the ladder. The four games saw Raiders Futsal Club, West City Crusaders, South Coast Taipans and Sydney Futsal Club register wins.
Let’s get onto the review.
Match of the Round: Raiders Futsal Club 5 defeated Sydney City Eagles 3
Raiders Futsal Club defeated Sydney City Eagles 5-3 at Thomas Hassell Anglican College on Saturday night.
The hosts had to comeback from 3-1 down to bounce back in style. Tomas Medimurac and Christopher Godoy Bascur scored braces in the win while Javier Morales also found the back of the net in the dramatic win.
For Sydney City Eagles, it was a disappointing result after holding a lead for much of the game. William Galla opened the scoring for the visitors while Anthony Tomelic and Peter Pelekanos were the other goal scorers in the game.
Raiders Futsal Club started the game off with a bang. The hosts had a pair of shots which didn’t trouble Sydney City Eagles keeper Aaron Messina.
The first chance for the Eagles came through Anthony Tomelic. He drove forward and forced Raiders Futsal Club custodian Ibrahim Daniel into a save.
Both teams traded chances early in the contest. Slaven Ljuboja shot wide for Raiders Futsal Club then Markos Galla did similar for Sydney City Eagles.
It was Galla who opened the scoring in the game. He drove forward and arrowed into the bottom corner to make it 1-0 Eagles in the 10th minute.
Eagles went close to doubling their delight from a set piece. Tomelic stepped up and had his effort deflect wide of the net.
Tomelic made it 2-0 for Sydney City Eagles in the 14th minute. He swiftly turned his defender before he whipped the ball home.
Raiders Futsal Club did pull back a goal in the 19th minute. Javier Morales was on hand to tuck the ball home from an errant pass for 2-1.
The game remained at a frantic pace to start the second half. Bruno Antelmi curled wide then Thomas Todd was denied by Messina.
Raiders Futsal Club started to find their rhythm in the game. Christopher Godoy Bascur had a pair of chances which were saved by Messina.
The Eagles absorbed that pressure and made it 3-1. Peter Pelekanos cut inside and rolled an effort into the corner in the 28th minute.
The hosts struck back quickly to get back in the game. Tomas Medimurac finished off a move to make it 3-2 in the 30th minute.
Raiders Futsal Club went close to equalising through Luis Ferreira. He weaved past defenders and struck the post.
They did find the equaliser in the same minute. It was a superb pass which found Medimurac who tapped home for 3-3.
Raiders Futsal Club quickly took their first lead of the game. Bascur rode through the challenge before he fired home to make it 4-3 in the 31st minute.
The Eagles almost fashioned a quick response through Michael Cimino. He strode forward and whipped an effort against the post.
There was a chance for Raiders Futsal Club to extend their lead after Eagles conceded their sixth foul. Medimurac stepped up and was denied by Messina.
Pelekanos went close to equalising for the visitors. He had his shot roll agonisingly wide after it took a deflection.
The Eagles last chance came through Antelmi. He rolled a kick-in to himself then unfurled an effort which Daniel had to save.
Raiders Futsal Club put the icing on the cake and made it 5-3. Daniel lobbed the ball to Bascur who nodded it into the net.
Speaking post match, Sydney City Eagles coach Roy Perre reflected on the game and the result for the visitors:
“We were in control then didn’t have the right combinations on the pitch which cost us tonight. They got together some momentum then we couldn’t hold them back after that.” said Perre.
For Raiders Futsal Club coach Slaven Ljuboja, it was a complete team performance as he reflected on the win for his side:
“It was a good game, a hard one. The boys did well against a good team. I think we executed our game plan well and remained disciplined. We executed our two-two defence well which helped to get us the win.” said Ljuboja.
MATCH STATS
Saturday 14 October 2023
Thomas Hassell Anglican College
Raiders Futsal Club 5 (Morales ‘18, Medimurac ‘30, ‘31, Bascur ‘31, ‘40)
Sydney City Eagles 3 (Galla ‘10, Tomelic ‘14, Pelekanos ‘28)
Raiders Futsal Club: 1. Ibrahim Daniel, 5. Anthony Makris, 6. Christopher Godoy Bascur, 7. Jovan Miladinovic, 8. Goran Ljuboja, 9. Tomas Medimurac, 10. Slaven Ljuboja, 11. Ethan Kerek, 17. Thomas Todd, 25. Javier Morales, 77. Luis Ferreira
Yellow cards: Ferreira
Red cards: nil
Sydney City Eagles: 2. Leandro Carle, 3. Stefan Simonoski, 4. Louis Hall, 5. William Gafa, 6. Dean Pelekanos, 7. Anthony Tomelic, 8. Dejan Simonoski, 9. Bruno Antelmi, 13. John Morabito, 14. Peter Pelekanos, 20. Michael Cimino, 24. Cameron Caligiuri, 64. Markos Galla, 99. Aaron Messina
Yellow cards: nil
Red cards: nil
South Coast Taipans 6 defeated SD Raiders Futsal 3
South Coast Taipans won 6-3 against SD Raiders Futsal in their game at Illawarra Hockey Centre on Saturday afternoon.
The Taipans go equal top of the FPL2 Open Mens competition after their third win in a row and fourth of the season. Jacob Gjorsevski opened the scoring for the Taipans in the 4th minute before Dimi Petratos equalised for SD Raiders Futsal. Gjorsevski and Giovanni Panuccio made it a 3-1 lead before a late Franco Maya goal brought the visitors back within a goal.
It was a tight start to the second half between these two sides. Taipans made it 4-2 after Jyden Harb found the back of the net. Jay De Gouveia and Panuccio stretched their advantage to 6-2 before a late Carl Skobla goal rounded off the contest.
West City Crusaders 8 defeated APIA FC Futsal 4
West City Crusaders won 8-4 against APIA FC Futsal in their game at PCYC Hawkesbury on Saturday afternoon.
The Crusaders have moved into the top spot on the FPL2 Open Mens ladder after their back-to-backs on their home pitch. Stuart Gosling made it 1-0 for the Crusaders in the fifth minute then Arthur Dembri equalised for APIA FC Futsal. Benjamin Lam doubled their delight then Gosling made it a brace for a 3-1 half-time lead for Crusaders.
APIA FC Futsal came out of the break firing with Luiz Claudio Dos Santos Pereira Filho pulling a goal back before Kwadno Boamah-Addai restored the Crusaders two-goal lead. Zachary Reardon, Gosling and Lam all found the back of the net to make it 7-2.
Giacomo Di Mento and Guilherme Mazurkievicz both found the back of the net for APIA FC Futsal to get the scoreboard back to 7-4. Boamah-Addai rounded off the impressive performance for Crusaders with his second of the afternoon.
Phoenix Futsal Club 0 defeated by Sydney Futsal Club 2
Sydney Futsal Club were 2-0 winners against Phoenix Futsal Club down at The Centre – Dural on Saturday night.
The visitors got their first win of the season after some encouraging performances in recent weeks. Sydney Futsal Club found the opener in the 4th minute after Dion Kellis fired home his second goal of the FPL2 Open Mens campaign.
Sydney Futsal Club doubled their delight just after the break. Omid Mokhtar found the back of the net in the 23rd minute to make it 2-0. Coach Carlos Perez will be delighted that his side got off the mark for the season.
By Justin Davies (@JustDavies90)
